UAV having hermetically sealed modularized compartments and fluid drain ports

ABSTRACT

In one possible embodiment, an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle is provided, which includes a fuselage comprised of a buoyant material. Separators within the fuselage form separate compartments within the fuselage. Mounts associated with the compartments for securing waterproof aircraft components within the fuselage. The compartments each have drainage openings in the fuselage extending from the interior of the fuselage to the exterior of the fuselage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/730,825, filed Dec. 28, 2012, by Belik et al., entitled UAVHAVING HERMETICALLY SEALED MODULARIZED COMPARTMENTS AND FLUID DRAINPORTS, which is a continuation of PCT Application numberPCT/US2011/042285, by Belik et al., entitled UAV HAVING HERMETICALLYSEALED MODULARIZED COMPARTMENTS AND FLUID DRAIN PORTS, filed 29 Jun.2011, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties,which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/359,809, byBelik et al., filed on Jun. 29, 2010, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Reducing weight and size are paramount in the design of small unmannedvehicles. Small unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs typically are designedto be launched from, and land on dry land. Such vehicles are now beingsought that can operate while being exposed to, or after being exposedto aquatic environments. For example, it may be preferred to land anunmanned aerial vehicle on water, rather than on land, either to lessenthe impact of landing, or because it is more easily retrievablelocation. Typically, amphibious aircraft, both manned and unmanned, areable to take off and land in water.

Hand launched amphibious UAVs though are not required to take off fromthe water, but are required to land on dry land, or on water. Some handlaunched UAVs are designed to land by skidding along, or impacting theground, which is considerably more abrupt than water landings.

What is needed is an amphibious UAV that can withstand high impactground landings.

SUMMARY

In one possible embodiment, an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle isprovided, which includes a fuselage comprised of a buoyant material.Separators within the fuselage form separate compartments within thefuselage. Mounts associated with the compartments for securingwaterproof aircraft components within the fuselage. The compartmentseach have drainage openings in the fuselage extending from the interiorof the fuselage to the exterior of the fuselage.

In one possible embodiment, an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle isprovided, which includes a fuselage constructed of a buoyant materialand separators within the fuselage forming separate battery, payload,and avionics compartments within the fuselage. Mounts associated withthe compartments are provided for securing a battery, a payload, andavionics within the fuselage. Drainage openings extend through the wallof fuselage to connect the compartments with the exterior of theunmanned aerial vehicle.

In one possible embodiment, an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle isprovided including a fuselage constructed of a buoyant material withseparators in the fuselage forming separate battery, payload, andavionics compartments within the fuselage. The battery compartment andthe avionics compartment have a drainage channels having a weep holesthrough the fuselage. The payload compartment has an open bottom.Mounting surfaces within the battery, payload, and avionics compartmentsare provided for mounting a battery module, a payload module, and anavionics module within the fuselage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will be betterunderstood with regard to the following description, appended claims,and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a simplified perspective view of an amphibious unmannedaerial vehicle.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified top view of the fuselage of the amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified side view of the fuselage of an amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a simplified perspective view of an amphibious unmannedaerial vehicle or UAV 10. The UAV 10 has a fuselage 100 of theamphibious unmanned aerial vehicle 10 has modularized compartments 120,130, and 140 to contain modular components or modules, such as a batterymodule 20, a payload module 30, and avionics electronics module 40. Invarious embodiments, the wings 15 and/or 16 may be constructed ofmultiple pieces, which may separate, and/or “break away” or separatefrom the fuselage 100 during landings.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified top view of the fuselage 100 of the amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle 10 of FIG. 1. The walls 110 of the fuselage 100are composed of a buoyant material so that the fuselage 100 will floatwithout wings (not shown) attached when the fuselage is fully loadedwith components, such as the battery 20, the payload 30, and theavionics electronics 40, shown in FIG. 1, and other aircraft parts andcomponents. For example, the walls 110 may have a molded foam coresealed with a waterproof skin, though this is not required. The walls110 may be a single continuous wall or multiple wall sections, or thelike.

In this embodiment, the fuselage is separated into three compartments, aforward battery compartment 120, a central payload compartment 130, anda rear avionics compartment 140. The forward battery compartment 120 isseparated from the central payload compartment 130 by separator wall150. The central payload compartment 130 is separated from the rearavionics compartment 140 by separator wall 160. In the embodiment shown,tabs 104, 105, and 106 are employed as a means to secure the components(not shown) in the compartments 120, 130, and 140. The tab 105 may berotated by hand using the pivotable handle 105 h to allow installationof a battery (not shown) and then rotated back to the position shown tolock the battery in the forward battery compartment 120. Other securingmechanisms may be used instead or in addition to the rotatable tabs 104,105, and 106.

The battery compartment 120 has mounting surfaces 122 which support abattery (not show). In this embodiment, a connector 124, which may be asurface mount connector or the like, is generally flush with themounting surfaces 122. Channels 126 f and 126 r are recessed below themounting surfaces 122. Drainage openings such as weep holes 128 b in thechannel 126 f extend through the bottom wall 110 b of the fuselage 100.Weep holes 128 s (shown in FIGS. 1-3) in the channel 126 r extendthrough the side wall 110 s of the fuselage 100.

The mating surface 124 m of the connector 124 is located above thechannels 126 f and 126 r so that the mating surface is not submerged inwater when the battery 20 (FIG. 1) is connected/disconnected, if thefuselage is out of the water. Wiring 123 f and 123 b may be routed inthe channels 126 f and 126 b, respectively, and recessed and/or embeddedthrough the fuselage 100 to provide power to the motor (not show) andavionics electronics module 40 and/or a payload module 30.

The central payload compartment 130 has front and rear mounting surfaces132 f and 132 r which support a payload, such as a camera assembly (notshown). The payload module 30 may contain the imaging, sensing, or otherpassive, active, non-lethal, or lethal payload devices. In thisembodiment, a connector 134, which may be a surface mount connector orthe like, is generally flush with the mounting surface 132 r. Themounting surface 132 r may form an enclosure 163 to contain theconnector 134 and associated wiring. The enclosure may form a lower partof the separator wall 160. Weep holes 228 s (shown in FIGS. 1-3) mayextend from inside the enclosure 163 through the side wall 110 s toallow water to exit the enclosure 163. In this embodiment, the centralcompartment 130 has a large opening 131 in the bottom so that a cameracan be utilized, such as by viewing downward or by lowering it into theairstream through the large opening 131. The large opening 131 alsoallows drainage of fluid from the central compartment 130.

In various embodiments, the mating surface 134 m of the connector 134may be located high above the opening 131, on the top of the enclosure163, so that the mating surface is not submerged in water when thepayload 30 (FIG. 1) is connected/disconnected, even if the fuselage isnot completely out of the water.

The rear avionics compartment 140 has a mounting surface 142 in a bottomof the avionics compartment 140. The mounting surface 142 has a forwardchannel 146 f and a rear channel 146 r. Channels 146 f and 146 r arerecessed below the mounting surface 142. Drainage openings such as weephole 228 s (shown in FIGS. 1-3) in channel 146 f extends through theside wall 110 s of the fuselage 100. Weep holes 228 b (shown in FIGS. 2and 3) in the channel 146 r extend through the bottom wall 110 b of thefuselage 100. A sloping recess 229 in the mounting surface 142 drainswater off the mounting surface 142 and into the channel 146 r.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 has an opening 141 in the side wall 110 sof fuselage 100, to expose a heat sink 41 (FIG. 1) and allow heatgenerated by the avionics electronics 40 (FIG. 1) to be released.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified side view of the fuselage 100 of an amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle 10 of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, optional skidpads 180 and 190 are secured to the bottom wall 110 b of the fuselage100. The skid pads 180 and 190 are used in this embodiment for landingon hard surfaces. The skid pad 180 may be located directly below theforward compartment 120 and may be fabricated of a durable shockabsorbing material of sufficient thickness and density to furtherprotect from impact the component within the compartment 120, such asthe battery 20 (FIG. 1). Similarly, the skid pad 190 may be locateddirectly below the rear compartment 140, and may be fabricated of adurable shock absorbing material of sufficient thickness and density tofurther protect from impact a component within the compartment 140, suchas the avionics electronics 40 (FIG. 1).

Weep holes 128 s extend through the side wall 110 s of the fuselage 100.The weep hole 128 s extends through the side wall 110 s and into rearchannel 126 r of the battery compartment 120. The weep hole 228 sextends through the side wall 110 s and into the enclosure 163 of thecentral payload compartment 130.

The fluid drainage openings may be weep holes, fluid drainage ports, orthe like.

Various embodiments provide a fuselage 100 for a UAV which can land bothon water and rugged terrain. Instead of sealing the entire aircraft fromwater intrusion, various embodiments achieve the ability to land onwater by having just the individual electrical and electroniccomponents, i.e. battery, payload, avionics electronics, and associatedconnectors and wiring, hermetically sealed.

This allows the rest of the aircraft to remain buoyant and any water inthe aircraft draining by a set of fluid drain ports when the UAV isretrieved from the water. In this manner, the protection of theelectrical and electronic components is not dependant on maintaining theintegrity of the fuselage 100 or the exterior walls 110, which is likelyto be damaged during landings on hard and/or rugged surfaces (typical ofland landings).

This also allows the volume within the aircraft that needs to bewaterproof to be minimized, thus reducing weight and overall systemcomplexity.

Further, the aircraft's ability to land on hard surfaces or ruggedterrain without damage to the electrical and electronic components isachieved not just by having these components encased in modularizedcompartments 120, 130, and 140, but also by allowing the walls 110 ofthe compartments 120, 130, and 140 to be partially compromised withoutnecessarily causing failure of the UAV. The walls 110 create an impactzone around the electrical and electronic components within thecompartments 120, 130, and 140, and the separators inhibit thecomponents 20, 30, and 40 from impacting each other. Optionally, in someembodiments, the walls 110 and mounts 122, 132 f, 132 r, and 142 aresuch that the components 20, 30, and 40 (FIG. 1) are recessed from thewalls 110 and/or their respective separators 150 and 160 (FIG. 2).Additional shock absorbing material (not shown) may be added within thecompartments 120, 130, or 140 to further reduce any chance of damage tothe components 20, 30, or 40 from impacts.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fuselage 100 may contain anoptional exterior channel 110 c in the side 110 s of the fuselage 100,extending rearward from a hole 218 in the side wall 110 s at theavionics compartment 140, to the tail section of the aircraft 10. Wiring203 extends through the hole 218 and along the exterior channel 110 c toconnect the avionics component 40 to an actuator assembly 202 foractuating the control surfaces in the tail of the aircraft 10. Theexterior channel 110 c allows the wiring to be easily accessed forinspection, repair, and replacement.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment may beincluded in an embodiment, if desired. The appearances of the phrase “inone embodiment” in various places in the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatorypurposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.This disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principlesof the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit and scope ofthe invention and/or claims of the embodiment illustrated.

Those skilled in the art will make modifications to the invention forparticular applications of the invention.

The discussion included in this patent is intended to serve as a basicdescription. The reader should be aware that the specific discussion maynot explicitly describe all embodiments possible and alternatives areimplicit. Also, this discussion may not fully explain the generic natureof the invention and may not explicitly show how each feature or elementcan actually be representative or equivalent elements. Again, these areimplicitly included in this disclosure. Where the invention is describedin device-oriented terminology, each element of the device implicitlyperforms a function. It should also be understood that a variety ofchanges may be made without departing from the essence of the invention.Such changes are also implicitly included in the description. Thesechanges still fall within the scope of this invention.

Further, each of the various elements of the invention and claims mayalso be achieved in a variety of manners. This disclosure should beunderstood to encompass each such variation, be it a variation of anyapparatus embodiment, a method embodiment, or even merely a variation ofany element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that as thedisclosure relates to elements of the invention, the words for eachelement may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms even if only thefunction or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even moregeneric terms should be considered to be encompassed in the descriptionof each element or action. Such terms can be substituted where desiredto make explicit the implicitly broad coverage to which this inventionis entitled. It should be understood that all actions may be expressedas a means for taking that action or as an element which causes thataction. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understoodto encompass a disclosure of the action which that physical elementfacilitates. Such changes and alternative terms are to be understood tobe explicitly included in the description.

Having described this invention in connection with a number ofembodiments, modification will now certainly suggest itself to thoseskilled in the art. The example embodiments herein are not intended tobe limiting, various configurations and combinations of features arepossible. As such, the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, except as required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:a) a fuselage comprised of walls comprising a buoyant material, thebuoyant material having a specific gravity less than one with respect towater; b) separators within the fuselage forming separate compartmentswithin the fuselage; c) mounts associated with the compartments forsecuring waterproof aircraft components within the fuselage; and d) thecompartments each having drainage openings in the fuselage extendingfrom the interior of the fuselage to the exterior of the fuselage. 2.The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the drainageopenings in at least some of the compartments comprise weep holesthrough a wall of the fuselage.
 3. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 1, wherein at least one of the compartments comprises adrainage channel at a bottom thereof, and wherein the drainage channelcomprises at least one drainage opening associated therewith.
 4. Theamphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 3, wherein the at least onedrainage opening comprises a weep hole.
 5. The amphibious unmannedaerial vehicle of claim 3, wherein the at least one drainage openingcomprises a plurality of weep holes.
 6. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 1, wherein the separate compartments comprise: a) aforward battery compartment; b) a central payload compartment; and c) arear avionics compartment.
 7. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle ofclaim 1, further comprising at least one skid pad on a bottom of thefuselage.
 8. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 furthercomprising drainage openings extending through the separators within thefuselage.
 9. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 furthercomprising securing mechanisms associated with the compartments tosecure the waterproof aircraft components in the compartments.
 10. Theamphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein at least some ofthe mounts within the compartments comprise integrated connectors forelectrically connecting a corresponding aircraft component upon mountingof the corresponding aircraft component within a respective compartment.11. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecompartments comprise a battery compartment comprising a surface mountconnector flush with a mounting surface of the mounts within the batterycompartment.
 12. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1,wherein the compartments comprise a payload compartment comprising asurface mount connector flush with a mounting surface of the mountswithin the payload compartment.
 13. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 1, wherein the compartments comprise a payloadcompartment comprising an open bottom.
 14. The amphibious unmannedaerial vehicle of claim 13, wherein there is substantially no fuselagewall below the payload compartment.
 15. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 1, wherein the compartments comprise an avionicscompartment comprising a heat sink opening.
 16. The amphibious unmannedaerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fuselage comprises: a) a batterycompartment having at least one weep hole through the fuselage; b) anavionics compartment having at least one weep hole through the fuselage;c) a payload compartment having an open bottom; and d) wherein thefuselage is constructed of the buoyant material walls such that theunmanned aerial vehicle is buoyant despite the at least one weep holethrough the fuselage in the battery compartment, the at least one weephole through the fuselage in avionics compartment, and the open bottomof the payload compartment.
 17. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicleof claim 1, wherein the fuselage is constructed of buoyant material suchthat the fuselage floats when the fuselage is loaded with a battery, apayload, and avionics electronics.
 18. An amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle comprising: a) a fuselage constructed of a buoyant material, thebuoyant material having a specific gravity less than one with respect towater; b) separators within the fuselage forming separate battery,payload, and avionics compartments within the fuselage; c) mountsassociated with the compartments for securing a battery, a payload, andavionics within the fuselage; and d) drainage openings extending throughthe wall of fuselage to connect the compartments with the exterior ofthe unmanned aerial vehicle.
 19. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicleof claim 18, wherein the battery compartment further comprises at leastone drainage channel.
 20. The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle ofclaim 19, wherein the at least one drainage channel comprises at leastone of the drainage openings therein.
 21. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 20, wherein the at least one of the drainage openingscomprises a plurality of weep holes.
 22. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 18, wherein the avionics compartment further comprisesat least one drainage channel.
 23. The amphibious unmanned aerialvehicle of claim 22, wherein the at least one drainage channel comprisesat least one of the drainage openings therein.
 24. The amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle of claim 23, wherein the at least one of thedrainage openings comprises a plurality of weep holes.
 25. Theamphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the separatecompartments are not sealed from water intrusion.
 26. The amphibiousunmanned aerial vehicle of claim 18, wherein the separate battery,payload, and avionics compartments are not sealed from water intrusion.27. An amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle comprising: a) a fuselagecomprised of buoyant material walls; b) separators within the fuselageforming separate compartments within the fuselage; c) mounts associatedwith the compartments for securing waterproof aircraft components withinthe fuselage; d) the compartments each having drainage openings in thefuselage extending from the interior of the fuselage to the exterior ofthe fuselage; and e) wherein the fuselage comprises: a batterycompartment having at least one weep hole through the fuselage; anavionics compartment having at least one weep hole through the fuselage;a payload compartment having an open bottom; and wherein the fuselage isconstructed of the buoyant material walls such that the unmanned aerialvehicle is buoyant despite the at least one weep hole through thefuselage in the battery compartment, the at least one weep hole throughthe fuselage in avionics compartment, and the open bottom of the payloadcompartment.